Cat's Eye
by Umbrae Calamitas
Summary: When Artemis is attacked by a pack of dogs, he ends up being rescued by a strange girl who goes to school with Usagi and the others. The question remains, however; is she friend or foe?


**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **All righty, you lot. I know the majority of you who read my other work want me to finish or update such stories as _Light Summons_ and _The Search For Life and Death_. I promise I will update them but, like always seems to happen, I have fallen in love (or back in love, in this case) with another fandom – specifically _Sailor Moon_.

You can blame Jai-kun for this. His brilliant fics involving his original character, Jaima, has corrupted me into wanting to write my own series of one-shots about Koneko. That being said, he must be punished. So go, dear readers – read his _Sailor Moon_ fics so that you may flood his inbox with reviews. Make him fear having someone press that little blue button. Make him quake in his shoes at the idea of someone commenting on his work.

And while you're at it, why don't you make me fear that, too? I hope you enjoy this little one-shot, an introduction into my _Sailor Moon_ Universe, to my original character, Hagasaki Koneko, and to the beginning of a story arc that will last for some time.

As always…

_Live long. Live well. Write. Read. Dream. _

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**CAT'S EYE**

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He should have realized something was off before he even opened his eyes. He should have noticed how the air was warmed by the heat of the sun, the room bright even behind his eyelids. The blanket he laid upon was soft and smelled of cinnamon, the sound of classical music played softly in the background – something that Mina-chan would never play.

In his defense, however, he didn't even recall the events that led up to his waking in this strange place. If someone had asked him what he thought of being attacked, it would have taken him a few moments of confused contemplation to discover what exactly that person was talking about.

As it was, he lingered in half-unconsciousness until his mind came back to him, along with both the memory of what had occurred, and the realization that he had no idea where he was.

* * *

"Mina-chan, what's wrong?"

Aino Minako turned to find two of her best friends and fellow Sailor Senshi regarding her with looks of concern. Her eyes were rimmed red and she knew she looked exhausted, but she didn't care. That wasn't important right now.

"Minako, what is it?" Mizuno Ami, the smartest among them and the entire school, stepped forward, her fisted hand raised to her chest in concern. Behind her, Tsukino Usagi gazed with equally worried eyes.

"It's Artemis," Minako admitted, her voice scratchy, "I don't know where he is. I saw Luna this morning, but she says she hasn't seen him for three days. I'm really worried, guys."

Ami smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Minako, I'm sure he's fine."

"Yeah, you know Luna and Artemis," Usagi put in, "they like to run off and have some alone time."

"Usagi!"

Usagi had the decency to blush and rub her head, but she laughed it off, unconcerned.

Minako smiled along with them, but her concern didn't fade. Sure, cats would be cats, whether they came from the Moon or not, but it wasn't like Artemis to disappear for three days without saying anything. Where could he be?

* * *

After lying on the bed in tired contemplation for a while, Artemis decided that he needed to know where he was and if he was in a position of danger. He rose to his paws with exaggerated caution, his solar-blue eyes scanning his surroundings nervously. The room wasn't small, by any means (it couldn't be much larger than Mina-chan's), but nor did it have much extra space.

The room was decorated with earthy colors; carpet the color of the leaves on a Peace Lily, walls the shade of canyon rock. Three dark brown bookcases sat along the walls, each filled to the brim with books. Artemis, upon scanning them, recognized a few of the names from Mina-chan's school assignments. Very few modern writers, from what he could see.

There was a large desk facing the only window in the room, made from the same type of wood as the bookshelves. A laptop sat open on it, the screen flashing images of stars and planets, flying through the solar system.

Forsaking what would have been a carefree investigation of a large bean bag chair flopped carelessly in the corner of the room between two bookshelves, he turned his full attention to the laptop. Leaping from the bed to the desk chair with the grace that only a cat could have, Artemis swept his tail curiously over the touch-mouse below the keys. He was awarded with the confirmation of his suspicions – the solar system whipping by being nothing more than an elaborate screensaver.

What appeared on the conscious screen was an open Word document, revealing sixty pages of heavy writing. His tail twitching, Artemis sat down in front of the laptop and began to read what was on the current page.

_I cannot say for certain what the reaction will be, if I ever make my way to the edge of the world, where the gateway is located. I suppose no one knows for sure the kind of reception they would receive from a place that they do not belong, nor should ever inhabit, even temporarily. _

_Morally, I should not even think of such things. It should not cross my mind, this idea that I might have to enter another place entirely. It is taboo to even think it, for the need to do so would suggest that some great, destructive force is at work. Of course, I would not wish for this, but is it so wrong to pine for an adventure, like those beheld by Achilles in _The Iliad_ or _Beowulf_? Can I not, also, be a grand warrior? _

_Ah, but to think of such things is to tempt the Fates, and that is a foolish thing, indeed. So I will be content with my simple life, my happy existence. I will read my books and I will dream. I will think about this gateway and these countless other worlds, but I will not mention it again. It is safer. _

"Some days, I wish I hadn't written that."

Artemis' fur stood on end as he leapt off of the desk in fright, hissing and spitting. He landed on the floor, ears flat against his skull and glaring with paper-thin eyes at the girl standing in the doorway. His tail was whipping from side to side, and it took him a moment to realize that she was speaking again.

"-to startle you. I certainly didn't expect that sort of reaction."

The girl was about five feet, two inches, if Artemis had to guess – roughly the same height as Ami. She had copper-toned skin and large golden eyes that made Artemis feel very… small, for some reason. Her hair was thick; a fiery-red color accented by blonde streaks running through it. She wore the majority of it up in a high, long ponytail, with thick bangs hanging down and framing her face.

Her clothing mimicked her room with its earthy tones. She wore a long, flowing skirt the color of Poison Ivy, reaching down past her shins but not far enough to conceal the thin golden chain around her left ankle. She also wore a soft-brown blouse of the same thin, silky material, wide sleeves reaching just past her elbows, and her stomach exposed. This was what allowed Artemis to see the top half of a tattoo that surrounded her belly button – a feline silhouette, leaping to her right in perfect balance. He could see the black edges of another tattoo that curled under her belly button, but it was concealed by the river-blue sash she wore around her waist.

Artemis' fur began to settle, his tail calming its rapid whipping from side to side. He tilted his head to the side curiously, studying this strange human who he had never met before. The girl with such odd eyes…

She stepped into the room, her bare feet not making a sound on the thick carpet. Artemis tensed slightly, but felt no need to flee, and the girl's smile was so kind.

"My name is Hagasaki Koneko," she said softly, settling down on the dark green blankets of the bed. "I have something for you, if you're hungry."

Only then did Artemis realize that she had a small bowl in her hands. His ears twitched, followed by his nose, and he caught the distinct, unmistakable scent of cream. Oh, if he had entered Avalon…

She laughed softly, a ringing sound like wind chimes in a silent womb, and held the bowl out to him. His stomach growling softly, he leapt onto the bed and bent down to delicately lap the cream from the bowl, starting only at first when the girl – Koneko – began to stroke him.

"You know, you're quite lucky, my little friend," she said softly, brushing the back of her hand across his fur gently, eliciting a purr. "I don't usually walk home that way, and you were in quite a bit of trouble."

Artemis stopped eating for a moment, recalling the events that had brought him here. Koneko was right – he had been extremely lucky that she had arrived. No doubt he never would have made it without her.

He shouldn't have been wandering around that part of Tokyo by himself; that much would have been obvious to anyone. Not even he had expected, however, running into a pack of stray dogs. Artemis was fast on his feet, true, but a cat could only take so much.

He'd been tossed around for some time, and bitten once, before they finally managed to corner him into a position he wasn't sure he was going to be able to escape. This was made more clear an idea when another dog – a large, furry beast with frighteningly-red eyes – threw him into the concrete wall with the force of his shoulder.

Artemis remembered hearing someone yell, and the sound of dogs barking madly, before darkness had claimed him.

_That must have been Koneko, then,_ he thought, looking up at the girl who had rescued him. He owed her a lot if she was the reason that he hadn't been recycled into dog chow.

She smiled at him, almost as though she knew was he was thinking, and scratched his ears. "Eat your dinner, my little friend."

* * *

"Did you guys hear the news?!"

Usagi yelped in surprise as Umino Gurio popped up out of nowhere, as he always did, thick glasses gleaming with the excitement of a new gossip topic. His brown hair was ruffled uncharacteristically and there were leaves stuck in it.

Usagi frowned at him as her childhood friend, Osaka Naru, came walking up to stand beside Umino. "It turns out that one of Hagasaki's books is getting published! She'd going to be on the news tomorrow night!"

Minako frowned in concentration. "Hagasaki?" she asked. For some reason, she couldn't bring a face to the name, but Umino was the encyclopedia of gossip-detail, if ever there was one.

"Hagasaki Koneko," he recited dutifully, as though reading off of a paper. "She moved here from an unknown origin two years ago, but she keeps to herself. I don't think she even has any friends. She spends most of her time at home or sitting in the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard, reading books written in English. Rumor has it that she's fluent in at least three languages, lives by herself, and is an alien from the far reaches of space." He seemed very excited to admit the last part, even waving his hands around to add emphasis.

Ami, who had been shy and had no friends before Usagi, was quick to offer her own hypothesis. "I doubt she's an alien, Umino. Maybe she's just a little unconventional."

"If she's been here a year, though," Makoto Kino, having walked up in the middle of the gossip, suggested, "I wonder why we've never heard of her before. Especially if she's about to be published."

Umino looked proud as he began speaking again, standing tall and firm, like a victorious warrior who has just completed an epic battle. "Using my finely-crafted skills to obtain this information, I bore witness to the conversation between the Literature professor and Hagasaki. She didn't look happy at all about her work being published."

"That seems odd," Ami admitted. "You would think she would have been pleased."

"Maybe she didn't want anyone else to see it," Makato suggested with a shrug.

"Then why would she sent it in, in the first place?"

"I didn't, actually."

Startled, the ground turned to see an unfamiliar girl watching them with a soft smile on her face. Held gently in her arms, there was a white bundle of fur that Minako instantly recognized.

"Artemis!" she cried with delight, darting forward. The cat uncurled himself from his slumbering position, lifting his head to see who had called out his name. With a happy meow (just barely remembering not to _speak_), he leapt from Koneko's arms and into Minako's.

Koneko laughed. "Well, I was going to ask you if you knew anyone who was missing a cat, but it looks like I don't have to."

"Where did you find him?" Minako asked happily, hugging the white feline to her chest.

"I took a short cut home and stumbled upon him in an alley. He didn't look particularly good, so I took him home. He just woke up this morning, and I was hoping I'd find his owner here."

"Thank you," Minako whispered, but was more absorbed in the greater detailed story that Artemis was whispering into her ear, along with a memory that he hadn't previously taken the time to consider: a half-human, half-beast creature, leaping at him from the air, fury in its eyes.

"I think we need to have a Senshi Meeting later," Minako whispered to Artemis, while the others were involved in meeting this new girl. Artemis nodded in agreement, before he turned to see his rescuer bow to the others.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," she said politely, "I am Hagasaki Koneko."

Minako felt the smile slip from her lips when Koneko raised her head. She hoped that she wasn't the only Senshi who had witnessed the disturbing change in Koneko's eyes.

How the pupil's had momentarily slit, like a serpent's, her irises flashing the color of blood.

She thought they had made a new friend, but from the smirk she hadn't noticed before on the girl's face, she wondered if they hadn't made a new enemy, instead.


End file.
